Team

Meet Our Team

Project Coordinator

Mahdi Sayyadi

As a project coordinator of Talent Boost FSEJ at the faculty of Social Sciences, Business and Economics, and Law, I am responsible for managing and coordinating the tasks and activities of the Talent Boost team.
In this role, I oversee the project’s scope, timeline, and budget, and ensure that all team members are working efficiently and effectively towards achieving the project’s goals. I am also responsible for identifying and managing any risks or issues that arise during the project’s implementation, and maintaining clear communication with all stakeholders involved in the project.

Project Assistants

Angelica Conti

I come from Italy and I am currently studying in the Master’s programme in International Law and Human Rights at Åbo Akademi. As a Project Assistant for the Talent Boost FSEJ project, I work with communication and social media, I contact local organizations to establish fruitful cooperation, and I co-host the podcast “Finvironment”, which is about studying, working, and living in Finland as international people.

Bibek Kadel

I am a Master’s degree student in the Faculty of Social Science, Business and Economics, and Law (FSEJ) at Åbo Akademi University majoring in Business Analytics. I have been involved in Talent Boost Program at FSEJ since July 2022. I initially joined the program as an intern and now I am working as a Project Assistant.
In the program so far, I have worked on studies highlighting the skills needed by students to be fit for the job market in Finland. Also, more recently, I have been working on studies to find the factors that influence international students to make Finland, a study-abroad destination.

Sukrit Pant

I am a Master’s Degree student in the Governance of Digtalization programme at Åbo Akademi University under the Faculty of Social Sciences, Business and Economics, and Law. My previous work experiences have been in Data Analytics and Quantitative Research mostly related to impact assessment of different projects. I am currently working as a Project Assistant in the Talent Boost project at FSEJ. I have worked on social media content creation as well as website design. I am also working with a Systematic Literature Review paper related to international talents and their motivation of studying abroad.

Dandi Merga Gutema

I am Dandi Merga Gutema. I am a second-year master’s student at Åbo Akademi University, Faculty of Social Science, Business and Economics, and Law (FSEJ), Department of Governance of Digitalization. My field of specialization is business analytics. I joined the Talent Boost project on July 1, 2022, as an intern. After I completed my internship period, I continued to work with the Talent Boost research team. Currently, I am working on research pertaining to the factors that influence international students to go abroad and stay.

Former Team Members

Shahrokh Nikou, Ph.D

Shahrokh was a former Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Business and Economics, Åbo Akademi University. He received a doctorate from ÅAU in 2012 and became a Docent in Information Systems in 2014. He has a MSc in Computer Networks from the Royal University of Technology, Stockholm (Sweden), 2008, and a MSc in Computer Sciences from ÅAU 2009. Shahrokh is also affiliated with the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV), at the Stockholm University. His research interests relate to digitalisation in entrepreneurship, healthcare services and higher education with a particular focus on the digital transformation as enablers for the organisational change. He has practical and academic experience in higher education research. He is one of the leading scholars at his home university on research methods, both quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Dr. Nikou has been involved in several national and international research projects and collaborates with several international universities, such as Stockholm University, Delft University of Technology, Kaunas University, Babson College, USA, Trento University, Uppsala University, Korea University and University College Lillebaelt (UCL), Odense, Denmark. Shahrokh has published more than 95 peer-reviewed articles in academic journals and conference proceedings, mostly on digitalisation, digital transformation, business models and business model innovation, and research in healthcare, entrepreneurship and higher education using sophisticated and advanced research methods and data analysis techniques.

He is an Associate Editor in the Journal of Electronic Markets (Springer) and Digital Business Journal (Elsevier), Academic Editor in PLOSONE, Section Editor in the Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research. He is also a member of the editorial board of Telematics and Informatics, Electronic Markets, International Journal of Web Engineering and Technology (IJWET), the Journal of Electronic Commerce in Organizations (JECO) and International Journal of Electronic Business Research (IJEBR).

Tuija-Liisa Pohja

Jessica Blackburn

I moved to Finland in 2016 from the UK. Now I study on the master’s degree programme in the Governance of Digitalisation at Åbo Akademi University.

Stephen Philips

Stephen is a university teacher and PhD candidate in public international law at the Institute for Human Rights, Åbo Akademi University. His current research examines the prevention of access to asylum and the role of international human rights law. He has also published research on the diffusion of asylum policy, immigration detention, and forced migration and vulnerability. Stephen is a trained social worker and has previously worked in casework and advocacy roles in the government and non-government sectors with asylum seekers in Australia and with victims of forced displacement in Colombia and has experience in crisis mental health social work and with marginalised communities. In addition to his academic work, he operates a business specialised in communication consultancy, catering to clients in the government, not for profit and private sectors.

Tamara Engelmann

I am from Germany and studying International Management with the focus on Marketing and HR at the University of applied Sciences in Kempten in the very south of Germany. Currently, I am working as an intern at the Talent Boost project at Åbo Akademi University and will finish my bachelor’s next winter.

Asmaa Hinawi

Asmaa Hinawi senior digital marketing and sales specialist, with a knack for social media and content creation. With more than nine years of experience, Asmaa headed digital marketing and social media strategies for UAE government entities. Today, Asmaa is getting her master’s degree in Governance of Digitalisation at Åbo Akademi University in Turku.

 

Daniela Puyos

I am originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I have experience working in the audiovisual field, in EU and in the USA. Currently I am finishing my studies in Audiovisual Communication at Universidad de Sevilla, and working in content creation and marketing as an Erasmus intern in the Talent Boost Programme at Åbo Akademi University.

Thao Orrensalo

I have moved to Finland from Vietnam in 2012 for pursuing my Bachelor’s Degree in International Business at Turku University of Applied Sciences. I further continued my education at Åbo Akademi University. Currently, I am a Doctoral Candidate at Åbo Akademi University. My research interest relates to how digitalisation impacts entrepreneurship and their ventures. Being a part of the project, I hope to help other international students to settle in Finland.

Maedeh Ghorbanian

My name is Maedeh Ghorbanian Zolbin, and I am from Iran. I have a Maters’ degree in Business-Administration International Marketing. Aside from university degree I have several years of work experience in the field of marketing. I joined Åbo Akademi as a doctoral student in 2020, and currently I am a doctoral candidate in ÅAU at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Business and Economics. I am interested in literacy skills and elderly people. Recently I joined to the talent boost project in the ÅAU.

Diep Pham

Diep is a business analyst who got her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Tampere, Finland. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Analytics and Information Studies at Åbo Akademi University with the intention to obtain a Doctorate as well in the near future. Before coming to Finland, she studied Banking & Finance at Banking University of Ho Chi Minh city, one of the leading institutions in Vietnam, and has held various positions in the field of Finance & Accounting.

Boglárka Selényi

I am from Hungary and I finished my Master program at the Corvinus University of Budapest with the faculty of Marketing in June, 2022. I spent an Erasmus semester in Finland in 2021 and after that I have decided that I would really like to go back to spend an Erasmus+ internship there too, because I really like the country and its culture. Luckily my wish came true and I am working now as a marketing trainee for the Talent Boost project at Åbo Akademi University.

 

Åbo Akademi Talent Boost Project Coordinator

Mirjam Granström

Mirjam Granström is coordinating the Talent Boost program on central level at Åbo Akademi University. She holds a master’s degree in public international law from Åbo Akademi University. Previously, she has worked as a counsellor for immigrants in their integration processes at Luckan Integration. Her employment history also includes working with legal questions at the UNHCR, assisting in research focusing on questions related to conflict management at the Åland Islands Peace Institute and being active as a volunteer in the refugee relief.